India and South Africa Women are set to face each other in the first T20I of the five-match series, scheduled to be played on Friday at Kingsmead in Durban. Their last meeting was at the ODI World Cup final, where India romped to a commanding 52-run win the World Cup trophy. However, this is a completely different format, and South Africa, who will be aiming to leverage home conditions, will look to make it the toughest assignment for India.

Moreover, with the T20I World Cup 2026 on the horizon, the series carries greater significance, presenting both sides with a set of opportunities to fine-tune their skills and combinations ahead of the mega event. India's most recent T20I series was against Australia women last year in October-November, where they clinched the five-match series 2-1 after two matches ended in no result. With the thrilling success against Australia, India are riding a wave of both momentum and consistency, looking to further boost their confidence ahead of the World Cup. They boast an explosive batting line-up with the likes of Smriti Mandhana, Harmanpreet Kaur, Jemimah Rodrigues and Shafali Verma and Richa Ghosh. Deepti Sharma, who was India's World Cup hero, provides all-round depth.

South Africa, who has a strong record at home, will be unstoppable. Though they are heading into the series against India on the back of a 4-1 defeat against New Zealand, they will be a team to challenge given their strong record at home. Meanwhile, with the likes of Laura Wolvaardt, Tazmin Brits and Sune Luus, South Africa carry stability and will hope for the positive outcome.

Head-to-head

Matches - 19

IND-W won - 10

SA-W won - 6

No result - 3

South Africa Women likely XI: Laura Wolvaardt (c), Tazmin Brits, Anneke Bosch, Sune Luus, Chloe Tryon, Nadine de Klerk, Sinalo Jafta (wk), Annerie Dercksen, Ayabonga Khaka, Nonkululeko Mlaba, Tumi Sekhukhune.

India Women likely XI: Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh (wk), Arundhati Reddy, Kranti Gaud, Kashvee Gautam, Shree Charani, Renuka Singh.